Temple for ophthalmic mountings



June 19, 1951 w. w. COULL TEMPLE FOR OPHTHALMIC MOUNTINGS Filed Dec. 19, 1947 Wallace WCou ll, INVENTOR,

A TTO R NE Y5.

Patented June 19, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Wallace W. Coull, Reading, Pa., assignor to Willson Products, Inc., Reading, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 19, 1947, Serial No. 792,661

1 Claim. 1 This invention relates to ophthalmic mountings in the nature of lens-framings having temples to position and hold them in place before the eyes of a wearer.

More particularly it relates to a new and improved construction of the temples themselves, the primary object being to provide an assured positive support for the lens-framing with a minimum of discomfort to the wearer.

Temples heretofore known may be classified as these having their ends curved to snugly engage around the ears, and straight bars extending rearwardly and adapted for resting engagement over the tops of the ears. The first type gives assured support to the lens-framing but is very liable to cause discomfort and irritation to the ears. The second type may give more comfort but with less of the assured support of the first type.

The improved temple of this invention is designed to give assured support to the lens-framing as well as comfort and ease to the wearer, freedom from any pressure contact with the cheek of a wearer, and positive gripping engagement with the bony part of the head rearward of the ear.

The nature of this improved temple construction and the manner of its support of the lensframing will be more fully described hereinafter in connection with the accompanying drawings, and its novel features specifically defined in the appended claim.

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a lens framing indicative of the kind embodied in this invention and showing hingedly-connected rearwardly extended temples for supporting said framing on the face of a wearer.

Fig. 2 is a separate side elevation of a temple embodying the features of my invention, the view showing the inner vertical face of the temple which extends rearwardly from the lens framing at a side of the wearers head.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the temple shown in Fig. 2. I

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of the temple taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the various figures show a novel type of ophthalmic mounting or spectacle having the temples 2, 2 pivotally connected to the lower sides of the lensframing 3, but it will be apparent and it is to be understood that each pivotal connection is not essential to this invention and may be located at any other side portions of the framing.

It is important however, and highly desirable 2 to this invention, that the temples, at least, and preferably the entire lens-framing, be formed of any of the known and commonly used plastic materials shaped by die-casting or other well-known processes. Such plastic temples not only have a present popular appeal, but do in fact insure more comfort and ease to the wearer over the former more or less thin wire or straight bars heretofore used.

Temples suitable for the present invention are preferably made of plastic, and are not only of exaggerated size, as shown, in conformity with the present trend, but must essentially have a substantially rectangular cross-section area, as shown in Fig. 4, with the narrow thickness thereof extending generally horizontally the broader inner faces extend generally fiatwise to the face of the wearer. The forward ends 2a, 2a, of the temples are hingedly connected to the lens-framing in any conventional manner so they may be folded over the framing, or may be swung to extend rearwardly for supporting the lens-framing on the face of the wearer.

The temples, as above generally described, more or less conform to usual known construction, but the latter have recognized inherent deficiencies, as discomfort for the wearer and failure to adequately support the lens-framing in position.

The temples of this invention, as shown particularly in Figs. 2 and 3, embody certain novel and improved construction features, so they may extend rearwardly without contact with the cheek of a wearer, which contact is often most irritating and uncomfortable, and will pass lightly over the ears to engage only the hard bony structure of the head rearward of the latter. Thus a novel three-point support for the spectacle frame is provided, namely a rest of the framing bridge on the nose, and pressure contact points at the free ends of the temples against the hard bony structure behind the ears. To accomplish this new and improved result, the temples are shaped with twists extending lengthwise of their rearward projections, which twists may be called, as perhaps most aptly describing them, as apple peel twists. The purpose of such twists is primarily to provide a torsional stress to the temples'so that their free ends will yieldingly press against the bony parts behind the ears, which parts are practically insensible to such pressure; further said twists permit pivotal connection with the framing below or above a horizontal line bisecting the eyes, giving desirable free lateral view, and safe location of the pivotal connection within the width of the lens framing; and said twists permit I the temples to extend rearwardly, closely following the contour of the head without contacting the same, except at their free ends.

The above described apple peel twists of the temple as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, comprises substantially a portion 2b at its hinged end having an outward bend, as shown, so it may extend rearwardly without contact with the head. This bend may slightly incline from the vertical in conformity with its hinged engagement, and said bend extends into an intermediate portion 20 having reversed twists, first outwardly and then inwardly from the vertical as shown, and the continuing free end having a downward and inward bend 2d terminating in an enlarged or spatulated tip portion 2e adapted to contact the bony part of the head rearward of the ear. The temple, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and above described, will be made in right and left shape for use with the lens framing 3, and when hingedly engaged with the latter, the transverse spacing between the rearwardly projecting tip portions 2e will be less than the diametra] spread between the bony structure behind the cars. This narrower spread of the temple tips 2e will necessitate the temples being sprung apart when engaging them in position to retain the lens framing 3 in wearing position, and will cause said tip ends 2e to approach coplanar relationship with respect to their forward hinged ends 2a, 2a.

The twists above described will impart a torsional stress to the temples that will cause only the extreme free end tip portions 2e, 2e, thereof to contact and press against the bony portion rearward of the ears, the temple portions between said tip ends and their hinged ends following the contour of the head in closely spaced relation thereto and free of any contact therewith. This possible closely spaced head relation,

and the hinged ends lying within the extreme width of the lens framing, desirably avoid any likelihood of the temples contacting or engaging objects coming into the range of the head movements. And the tip ends 2e being enlarged and spread over an area of the bony structure, enable them to exert substantial frictional contact without discomfort and assure positive supports for the lens framing 3.

The above described pressure engagement of the temple tip ends 2e, in connection with the usual bridge rest 4 of the lens framing seating on the nose of the wearer provides remarkable comfort in use as well as a positive three point suspension of the lens framing, with the temples closely adjacent the head in out-of-the way location, improving their general appearance and appeal.

It will be apparent, that as shown and above described, I have provided an improved temple mounting for framed lenses, having an assured and comfortable three-point engagement with the head and embodying a close fitting neat appearance. This three-point engagement is secured by torsional stress imparted to the temple by the above described apple-peel twist imparted to them, and it is to be understood that such twist may be obtained by modification of the twists shown in the drawings and herein described. And it is to be understood that the showing and description of my invention, as herein set forth, is to be taken as illustrative only, and that the essence and scope of my invention is defined in the following claim.

What I claim:

In combination with the lens-framing of an ophthalmic mounting having a nose rest support, similar right and left supporting temples therefor each having its forward end hingedly connected to the lowermost part of a side portion of said framing and adapted to extend rearwardly therefrom over an ear of the wearer; each of said temples being made of plastic material and each temple being of exaggerated width and of substantially uniform rectangular cross-sectional area whose width is many times its thickness, with the narrow edge thereof adapted to extend in a direction away from the face of the wearer and the broad inner surface thereof adapted to lie in closely-spaced non-contacting flatwise relation to the head of the wearer, each temple having a front portion with a slight torsional twist such that the bottom edge of said front portion is inward with respect to the upper edge thereof, each temple having a back portion extending immediately rearward from said front portion and curving upwardly therefrom and having a slight reverse torsional twist merging into the first said twist, each temple having a curved free end extending immediately rearward of said back portion, said free end extending sharply torsionally downwardly and rearwardly following the contour of the ear and terminating in a flatwise widened tip portion adapted to contact and frictionally engage the hard bony portion of the head rearward of the ear; said nose rest and said temple tip portions forming the only contacts with the head and a three-point suspension for the lens framing.

WALLACE W. COULL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 120,885 Galter Sept. 24, 1929 D. 150,639 McNeill Aug. 17, 1948 1,573,023 Wrighton Feb. 16, 1926 1,635,799 Nerney July 12, 1927 1,729,040 Halferty Sept. 24, 1929 1,988,423 Rohrback Jan. 15, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3,436 Great Britain Nov. 29, 1890 655,059 France Apr. 15, 1929 542,876 Great Britain Jan. 30, 1942 OTHER REFERENCES The Optician, volume XCV, March 25, 1938, page 126.

Plastics, January 1947, New Motifs for Sun Glasses, pages '72 and 74. 

